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1 of 2 Oklahoma officers shot during traffic stop dies

This July 17, 2017 booking photo provided by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office shows David Ware, who police say shot two Tulsa Police officers following a scuffle on Monday, June 29, 2020. Ware fled the scene on foot and police searching for him described him as armed and dangerous. (Tulsa County Sheriff's Office via AP)

TULSA,
Okla. (AP) — One of the two Tulsa, Oklahoma, police officers who were
shot during a traffic stop has died, authorities said Tuesday.

Police
Chief Wendell Franklin said Sgt. Craig Johnson died Tuesday. He said
Johnson was shot multiple times during the Monday attack, including one
shot that was “critical.”

Franklin described Johnson’s death as a “tremendous loss” to the police department.

“His sacrifice will not go unremembered,” he said.

A
patrol car at the division where the officers worked has been covered
in flowers, balloons, American flags and handmade signs as a tribute.

Johnson
and rookie officer Aurash Zarkeshan were shot at about 3:30 a.m. Monday
during a traffic stop. The suspected gunman, 32-year-old David Anthony
Ware, was arrested following a search that lasted more than seven hours.

The
officers were trying to get Ware out of the vehicle, and one officer
had already deployed a Taser and pepper spray in an attempt to remove
him. Once out, Ware pulled a handgun and fired multiple rounds, Franklin
said.

Zarkeshan had been on patrol for less than six weeks since graduating from the police academy in the spring, the chief said.

Johnson had joined Tulsa police in 2005 and was promoted to sergeant in 2015, Franklin said.

“Sgt.
Johnson was a good man who made our lives better, who trained his
fellow officers to be better,” said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.

Franklin
said Johnson was survived by his wife, two young sons and parents. He
said Johnson’s family had decided to donate his organs.

A motive for the shooting was unclear. Tulsa police Capt. Richard Meulenberg said Ware had no known bias against the police.

While
Ware was being stopped, police said, he called an “accomplice” who
arrived in a separate vehicle and picked him up. Police said that man,
Matthew Hall, was arrested later Tuesday in Broken Arrow.

Ware
faces murder and weapons charges, and Hall a faces count of being an
accessory murder and a related charge. Both are being held without bond
at the Tulsa jail. Court records don’t list an attorney to speak for
either of them.

6-30-2020 Sergeant Craig Johnson – Disheartening update

Posted by Tulsa Police Department on Tuesday, June 30, 2020